Fighting
by Lost to the Hoping
Summary: Changed the name and story and made it a three-shot. Zuko and Katara seem to fight a lot, so Zuko sets out to find out why... and realizes he made a mistake somewhere along the line. Zutara with hints of Taang and SokkaxMei Was titled 'The Set Up'
1. Blind Dates

**Chapter One**

**Blind Dates**

-

"This... Is beginning to get ridiculous," Zuko stated, pacing back and forth in the small clearing. "I mean... What do they expect?! Me to just... Give into their demands?!" There was a snicker behind him and he spun around to face his two companions, glaring. "You," he growled, pointing at Aang. "This is all _your_ fault!"

"Hey, now-" Sokka started, but Zuko went on.

"If you hadn't decided to _save the world_, I wouldn't have to deal with this crap." Aang snickered again. A well-aimed tendril of fire knocked the younger boy - man, really - over and off the log he'd perched on. Sokka laughed at his friend, only to topple himself over while avoiding another tendril of fire. "Don't laugh at the Avatar," Zuko ordered, scowling. He sighed. "How did I ever deal with you morons?"

Aang, still laughing, sat up and grinned. "'Cause we're your best friends!" he replied easily.

And really, when the other had that look in his eyes, Zuko couldn't argue with him at all. Didn't mean he couldn't try, though. "Oh, please. What kind of excuse is that?"

Aang shrugged. "It's just a reason. Anyway, I'm sure you'll figure _some_thing out, Zuko. You're the Fire Lord, after all," he reasoned. "Who can tell you who to marry?"

Zuko sighed and slumped, plopping down on the dirt. "I guess you're right..." He chewed on his lip thoughtfully for a moment before coming up with an idea. "Hey! What if I'm already engaged by then? Then they can't come up with anything to make me marry who-ever-she-is."

"There you go, buddy!" Sokka said, thumping him on the shoulder. "They can't tell _you_ what to do. You're the awesomest Fire Lord ever!"

Zuko glared at him. "Did anybody ever tell you what an idiot you are?" he asked blandly.

Sokka's smile dripped away and he deflated, looking like a kicked puppy. "Hey, that's mean..." But then he got all excited again. "I know! You can pretend to be engaged to Toph! She's been rather down lately-"

"No way. Besides, she's... Like a little sister or something. Not at all a potential fiance," Zuko interrupted, irritated. "And besides, do you think these guys would be convinced by an act? No, I've actually gotta find a fiance."

"Maybe we could do blind-fold dating?" Aang suggested. "That way, they wouldn't know it was you! It's great, we can have them blind-folded the entire time and-"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "No. Though the concept has merit. Hm..." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I know. How about we ditch the blind-fold idea and just have it like a match-up or something. Just a secret date and neither of us know who we're dating until we meet."

"That's actually rather inventive," Sokka said thoughtfully. "We could call it... 'Secrecy Dating for the Fire Lord'."

"No dice," Zuko said, rolling his eyes again.

Aang tilted his head, considering. "How about we just call them blind dates? And if you like a girl enough, do a second date, and a third. If you don't feel quite right by the end of the third date, move on to another girl."

Zuko nodded. "Yeah. Good idea, except only two dates. Three would be getting their hopes up."

"Okay! It's settled, then!" Aang declared, leaping to his feet with a burst of air. "Let the blind dates begin!"

"Aang and I will interview the ladies, of course," Sokka interjected, puffing his chest out importantly.

Zuko sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "I'm doomed."

--

"Hello! I'm Lee-Ming!" the girl declared with a smile while looking at the two boys.

Sokka and Aang exchanged a look. "Okay?" they said in unison.

"And... What d'you want?" Aang asked, pretending ignorance.

"You're the ones setting up the 'blind dates', right?" she asked happily.

"Yes..." Sokka said, then sighed. "But this guy... He's really mean. He'd hurt you."

She slumped, disappointed. "Oh.... Well, bye then!" She waved and trotted off.

The duo sighed in relief. "He wouldn't have liked her at all."

"No. No, he wouldn't, Aang. That was close."

-

"I like the beach and food and-"

"Next," they chorused, and the slightly plump girl wandered off, not really looking as if she cared.

-

"My hobbies are skiing in winter and surfing in summer. I like to eat dangos, and I think sweet-rolls are nice. Art is a nice thing to look at, but I find it rather pointless-"

"Next."

She slumped and walked away, eyeing a surf-board.

-

"Why am I here? I could be in the graveyard or something..."

"N-next," Sokka said, inching away from the creepy girl.

-

The girl cracked her knuckles and smirked at them. "So... Which one of you am I dating?"

"Sparring partner, maybe, but..." Sokka winced, flinching away as she cracked her knuckles again.

"Next," Aang sighed.

-

"Having any luck?"

Sokka and Aang looked up, blinking upon seeing Katara and Toph standing there. Aang grinned and waved. "No," Sokka answered. "None. Not one of these girls seems to fit the bill..."

"What about Katara?" Toph suggested thoughtfully, idly taping a bare foot against the ground. "They seem to get along well enough..."

Aang brightened as Katara's eyes widened. "There's an idea!" he declared, grinning at his girlfriend (though she couldn't see it). "Katara and Zuko would be the match of the century!"

"Wh-what?! Are you guys _crazy_?!" Katara demanded.

Toph shrugged. "Nope. But you guys would make an awesome match..."

Sokka smirked and reached forward, grabbing his sister's wrist and yanking her along. "Time to pretty you up for tonight, sis."

"I'm going to kill you!"

-

The room was silent for a long while after Zuko's first date arrived, looking irritated and harried. She figited under his gaze, occasionally glancing back at the doors their three scheming friends had disappeared through. He was glad that for once, her glare wasn't focused on him. Instead, his mind was trying to figure out _how_ this was supposed to be a good idea, and if it turned out to be one, what he should do about it. After all, the two of them had clearly defined their _friend_ship a very long time ago, even before his father fell and he became Fire Lord.

So, once again, he was brought back to wondering _how_ this was a _good idea_. _What_ had been going through those three idiots' minds when they concocted this ludicrous plan and then shoved a very anxious Katara on him, after three _days_ of getting his hopes up with promises of a perfect match. _What unbelievably ironic idiots_, he mused, still staring at her.

Apparently, though, the staring was getting to her and she finally threw her hands up. "What! I know; not what you were looking forward to, but it's not _my_ fault!" Katara shouted, looking annoyed and nervous all at once.

He hesitated, but then sighed and motioned to the place he'd set up for tea. "I never said it was, Katara," he pointed out as they seated themselves.

She scowled at him, though he could tell she wasn't really mad at him. Probably more nervous and embarrassed by the situation than anything else. "You didn't have to. It's in your eyes," she said.

Zuko wondered where she got this stuff. "_Ac_tually," he corrected, pouring them some ginseng and raspberry tea. "I was wondering what those three have been smoking."

Katara snorted. "I heard Aang found some sort of plant growing at the Air Temple. Maybe that's it."

He chuckled softly, and just like that, the tension was broken. To prove it, he lifted one hand with a smirk and pretended to start smoking something. Katara laughed and lifted her cup to her mouth, amused as he allowed himself to fall over backward, pretending to be stoned. "You really are still a kid, you know that?" she teased, smiling.

Zuko sat up abruptly, making her blink. "I'm offended," he declared, though the amusement in his eyes proved otherwise and she relaxed. "To lump me in with that group of idiots-"

"You _are_ one of that group of idiots," she interjected.

He scowled. "Am not."

"Are too. Look, I can prove it." She leaned forward suddenly, poking a spot on his shirt just below his collar bone. "What's that?"

He looked down, wondering what he'd gotten on his shirt and how it could distract her from making a point- And she jerked her finger upwards, flicking his nose in the process. "See?" she said smugly, sitting back.

Zuko sat there blinking for a minute before he realized what had happened. "Hey! That's cheating!" he protested, frowning as she laughed at him.

"Just goes to prove you're one of them."

"So are you," he retorted, crossing his arms.

Katara gasped indignantly. "Am not!"

"Are too," he echoed. "By the way, you've got fuzz in your hair."

Eyes widening, she turned toward the closest reflective surface; a mirror on the wall. After a few moments' searching, she found nothing and scowled at his now smug expression. "Now who's cheating?"

"Excuses, excuses," he replied, scoffing and leaning backwards.

Katara growled and stood. "See? This is why this was a _really_ bad idea," she snapped.

He stood as well. "I'll say. Fire and water shouldn't mix."

She moved her arm gracefully through the air, showering him with two cups of very warm - though not hot anymore - tea. "You know what? You're right!" she returned as the liquid went up in steam around him. "We're so different, it's ridiculous. And what's more, you'll never get a girl on your own, so why don't you go ahead and take that arranged marriage, 'kay?" She shoved at his chest, knocking him off-balance, though he kept his feet. Barely.

"Get the fuck out," he snarled.

"Gladly!" She walked quickly to the door and slammed it closed behind her.

He knocked the low table over, growling angrily. "Fuck this. I'm just gonna take the damn treaty," he muttered. Those morons. Like he needed this shit.

-

**Chapter one finished. Tell me what you think! XD**


	2. Contemplation

**One of my reviewers mentioned that in the previous chapter, Katara sounded a little shallow. It wasn't the content that mattered. Please read between the lines. Also, to clear up any confusion, Toph and Aang are dating. Katara is single. That will eventually be explained, but for now, be patient.**

**Chapter Two  
Contemplation**

-

Sokka had once again donned his fake beard and mustache, this time completing the effect by wearing his new counselor's robes. (He wasn't the only counselor of Zuko's, because that would be catastrophic and Zuko wasn't stupid. Really he wasn't.) He peered 'wisely' at his 'charge' as the Fire Lord sprawled out on a couch, looking rather comfortable. Or uncomfortable, as the case may be.

"And she's just so... So stuck up and haughty- You know, she's never respected me like she was supposed to. First she treated me as trash while I was the crown prince, then an equal as the Fire Lord, and then trash again as the Fire Lord. She has no sense of-"

"My Lord, if I may interrupt," Sokka said, pitching his voice to sound older and wiser. Zuko fell silent and frowned at him so he reverted to his normal voice. "My sister... How do _you_ treat _her_?"

Zuko was baffled by the question. He sat up and stared (or glared, as it were) at Sokka silently as he tried to decode that seemingly cryptic statement. Only to realize it was rather straight-forward. "How do I treat her?" He thought back over the years, remembering their many altercations, as well as battles fought side-by-side and memories of both happier and not-so-happy times. He shook his head and sighed. "I don't know... I guess..." He frowned again, thoughtful. "I guess it depends on if we're mad at each other at the time. I just act accordingly."

"So... Am I right in assuming that if you _are_ mad at each other? You treat each other pretty badly, then?" Sokka ventured, tugging on his beard.

Zuko thought about that for a moment, realizing that it was essentially true. "Well, yeah. Until one of us - usually me - apologizes and we get over it."

Sokka smiled amusedly at that. "Well, you already sound like a couple."

"What?" Zuko stared at him and opened his mouth to start shouting, but Sokka quickly went on, sensing that he wouldn't be able to if he let Zuko talk any more. Which was probably true.

"Think about it, Zuko," Sokka said, waving an arm placatingly. "You reached out to her first, and she trusted you first, thus started the beginning of one rather convoluted relationship." He stood and pulled Zuko to his feet, bringing him to the window to peer out at Zuko's kingdom. He moved his arm in a broad sweep to encompass everything there. "You two fought side-by-side to defeat your sister. You risked your life for her and she saved you from the brink of death." He peered up into the slightly taller man's eyes. "And you really still get so mad at each other?"

Zuko opened his mouth to retort, but movement in the courtyard below caught his eye. He watched curiously as a noble woman, late in years, walked slowly along a path. A child played in the garden near the wall further out, chasing something through the grass. On the other side of the enclosed area, a young couple talked with each other, faces downcast but obvious smiles playing upon their lips. All of this, everything here... If it weren't for Katara, he wouldn't be here to rule the Fire Nation, much less witness these random and everyday activities going on.

He sighed and glanced at the oddly quiet Sokka, who was watching him patiently and waiting. It struck him in that moment how much Sokka had grown in the last five years since their rag-tag group took back the Fire Nation. Everyone had grown, really, but he just felt the same, as if nothing had really changed inside...

"I'll talk with Katara," he said with an accepting sigh. "I'm not promising anything," he went on when Sokka grinned and opened his mouth. "But I'll talk to her."

The other man nodded in satisfaction. "Well... Good, then. And I've gotta go talk to Aang about tonight."

"Tonight?" Zuko asked, wracking his brain for any memory of something important.

Sokka sighed. "What, you forgot? Who forgets their best friend's birthday, Zuko? C'mon, man, get it together," he teased, thumping his shoulder in a comradely fashion. "You should go get a present before poor Aang finds out you forgot about him."

Zuko scowled. "Yeah, yeah..." He watched his friend trot out of the room and sighed, thinking that it was Katara he was worried about it. Deciding to talk to her wasn't nearly as hard as getting her to stay long enough to plead his case...

-

When Katara made a last-minute dash to the market - how could she forget Aang's birthday?! Ooh, this was Zuko's fault somehow, she was sure - she hadn't expected to be pulled into a random alley-way by a heavily disguised and annoyed Fire Lord. She stumbled as he released her, barely recognizing his features through the shrouding veil over his face-

"What on Earth is with the outfit?" she asked incredulously, just a little concerned with this exaggerated display.

He sighed. "Well... I don't like it when they just gimmie free stuff since I'm the Fire Lord, so I'll come out to market disguised sometimes. The local trader's know me as 'the hermit' and sell me things the same as everyone else," he explained, sounding embarrassed.

Tentatively, she reached out and brushed the shroud away from his face, eyes landing on that unmistakable scar and those pretty golden eyes. "Really? That's a little extreme, don't you think?" she asked, bracing her hands on her hips.

Zuko pouted in a vague imitation of a child and she'd kick herself if anyone knew she thought it was cute. "I guess, but I can't exactly wish the scar away."

Katara gave him a sympathetic look. "Well... I'm still mad at you, you know," she said, scowling and crossing her arms.

"Yeah, about that..." He shifted and scratched a cheek sheepishly. "I'm sorry about what I said... I've been thinking about all this fighting we do and I was wondering... Why _do_ we fight so much? Most of it's just petty, too."

She turned around to retort, but he held up a placating hand and she sighed, calming herself. "I don't know. You just make me angry, I guess," she admitted, trying to consider it. She did tend to lose her temper sometimes... "I guess I act pretty rashly and just say what comes to mind," she said thoughtfully, frowning when she realized how childish she'd been lately. "But I actually have a reason to be angry, you know."

The Fire Lord threw his hands up. "That's the thing! I _don't_ know! _What_ are you angry about, Katara?" he demanded in exasperation. He leaned back against the wall on one side of the alley and crossed his arms, pressing his lips together. "I don't _know_ what you're angry about because you haven't bothered to tell me, so I just end up getting frustrated-"

"_You_ get frustrated?!" she demanded, fisting her hands. "How do you think _I_ feel?"

"About _what_?!" he retorted. "You still haven't told me what we're fighting about!"

She resisted the urge to sock him in the eye and instead fisted her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. "That's because you're a jackass and forgot. You always forget things, Zuko. You didn't even notice. You didn't try to-"

He straightened from the wall, holding up his hands and panicking as she began to cry. Uh oh. "Why don't you try telling me why you're mad at me and I'll-"

"I confessed!"

There was dead silence as the echoes of her half-screamed proclamation faded away, and Zuko stared at her in shock. "Oh." He tried to remember her doing so and wanted to hit himself when he did. "Um... Oh."

---

**R&R! Don't just fave/alert! Also, there will be one more chapter after this, which I will post tonight, but then the story is finished. It's a three shot and I wanted to get the last two chapters out...**


	3. Ch 3 and Epilogue

_Katara was nervous. She'd talked long into the night yesterday with Toph and finally decided to talk to Zuko. She'd been in love with him since he nearly died five years ago, but it had taken her a while to realize it. Maybe she'd loved him before that, but it was then that she realized she wouldn't be able to live without him. Of course, at the time she'd thought she belonged with Aang, but as the years went on, they realized that their love was more of a familial one than a romantic interest._

_So when Mei left Zuko for Sokka, as odd as that was in the extreme absurdity of the thought, she began to look at him. And realized what she felt. Because really, when it came down to it, it had taken Sokka spelling it out and Mei smacking her upside the head to realize she was head over heels for the hot-tempered fool._

_The problem had been convincing herself to take the chance to confess while trying to keep her hopes down in case her feelings weren't returned... or were rejected. But no, what he said when she told him 'I love you'?_

_"Uh-huh... Hey, can you hand that to me?" he demanded of one of his assistants, pointing to a paper on the other side of the table. "Sorry, Katara, but I'm really busy... Can we talk later?"_

_"Oh... Yeah. Okay."_

_And when she asked him about it the next day, he couldn't recall what she'd said._

The jerk. Katara spun away, ready to just run out of the alley way and ignore him for the rest of his life, but he snagged her around the waist and bodily pulled her back, preventing her escape. She squirmed and slapped ineffectually at his arm, but he didn't let her go and held her in place silently until she stopped struggling, crying into her hands.

Satisfied that she wouldn't try to flee again, he set her down and turned her around. "Katara?"

"No," she replied, shoving him away, but he persisted and grabbed her shoulders. "Zuko, just stop... Just quit it."

"Katara," he insisted and waited for her to meet his eyes with a frustrated 'what?' "I'm sorry," he said earnestly, bending over slightly to meet her eyes squarely. "I didn't mean to ignore you or forget about it. You caught me at a bad moment, but I should have listened to you and I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened slightly and she waited for what she assume was the gentle rejection, but when it wasn't forthcoming, she swallowed and dared to hope. "So... You're not rejecting me?"

"I'm not saying no," he replied with a shrug and straightened. "I'm... Willing to give it a try. I can't promise anything, but... I can try."

She smiled slightly at that. "Well, that's all I ask, then."

-

**Epilogue**

-

"Mommy, are you mad at daddy?"

Katara glanced down at her youngest, smiling slightly when she spied Zuko and their oldest peering at them through the bushes. Then she nodded. "Yes, Muza, I'm very mad at him."

"How come?!" the five-year old demanded, glancing back where his father and older sister were hiding and giving them a thumbs up.

She laughed as they both scrambled out of view, grumbles of "Why'd I send the five year old instead of the eight year old?" and "Stupid Muza, we're hiding, idiot" reaching her ears. She laughed and hugged up her adorable son as the duo guiltily came into view.

"But don't worry, Muza. I learned long ago that daddy's an idiot, so I always forgive 'im."

"Yeah- hey! I'm not an idiot!"

-

**The End. XD**

**R&R! Don't just fave/alert!**


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